


La Vie en Rose

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - How I Met Your Mother Fusion, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Inspired by How I Met Your Mother, M/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 19:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15803346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: How Eddie and Richie met each other.





	La Vie en Rose

**Author's Note:**

> filled for prompt 38 on Tumblr - 'you promised.'
> 
> Heavily inspired by Ted and Tracy's first meeting on How I Met Your Mother

It had been a long day. No, scratch that, it had been a long _week_. Eddie couldn’t actually remember the last time he had felt so exhausted, and he still had two more days to go. First, the gig that his band was booked for fell through, which meant that all the hotel bookings they had paid for went to waste. It hadn’t cost him all that much, but it was still annoying that the family had decided to book a DJ instead of his band. Then, his ex-roommate had called him to say he had bumped into an old friend, and that old friend was attending a wedding for his two best friends that weekend in which that band had pulled out. Luckily, this gig was only in Farhampton, Long Island, and not all the way up in Rhode Island.

So here he was, sitting on a train heading to Farhampton to play at a wedding of a couple he had never met before. Not that Eddie had much choice in the matter anyway, since his band wasn’t really his band anymore. A few years before, Eddie’s roommate had moved out and into an apartment with his girlfriend, and he was looking for a new roommate. Instead, what he got was a new lead singer for his band, the Cellophonics. Something that once meant the world to him, suddenly meant nothing anymore as all of his decisions and thoughts were blacklisted by this new member. Patrick.

At first, Patrick had been a nice guy, casually singing the lead, but then he started putting Eddie’s other band mates against him by bringing up private conversations they had had. It was then that Eddie decided that Patrick was bad news, and since then all he wanted to do was punch him in the face and take his band back.

It was during one of the shows, as Patrick was bragging on about how he formed the roots that would become the Cellophonics, that Eddie met Graeme. It was the first man that Eddie had met since...anyway Graeme was the first genuine guy that Eddie had met in a long time and they had hit it off. Three years later, they were still together.

Eddie was lucky that Graeme had a house out in Farhampton, as the thought of taking the last train back in to the city so late at night made him uncomfortable. It was always so eerie, and quiet, leaving Eddie with a uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. As he boarded the train that would take him out to Farhampton, he had no idea just how much this train ride would impact him.

It was a few stops into the journey when a redhead got onto the train and sat down a few rows behind him. She looked stressed, constantly running her fingers through her hair and over her face. Eventually, Eddie couldn’t take it anymore and he picked up the box of cookies he had baked that morning and opened the box, turning to face the woman, “Hey, you want a cookie?”

She looked up, her eyes bright as she nodded, reaching into the box and all but stuffing the cookie into her face. “Wow! These are amazing!” As she spoke, some crumbs of the cookie spat out and over the empty seat beside her. “Thanks.”

“You just took a cookie from a complete stranger on a train, I like how trusting you are,” Eddie said with a smile. “There could have been drugs or poison in them.”

The woman’s eyes widened, mid bite, “There’s not is there?”

“Nah, I just found them under my seat.” Eddie joked, but his eyes widened as he watched the woman spit out the cookie all over the floor. “Oh no I was just kidding! I thought you could use a cookie, then I thought you could use a joke...I should have stopped with the cookie.”

The girl laughed, tossing her head back and patted the seat next to her. Eddie grabbed his stuff and moved over, sitting next to her.  “I’m Beverly.”

“Eddie.”

For the remainder of the train ride, Eddie sat with Beverly, listening to her tell her stories of her husband, Ben, who was stuck travelling across the country from North Dakota with their baby daughter Cassie. He learned that their two best friends Stan and Mike were getting married that weekend, and that was how Beverly found out that Eddie’s band was playing at the reception.

“I wasn’t even meant to be taking the train in the first place, but my best friend Richie wouldn’t shut up with the inappropriate jokes so I asked him to pull over so I could take the train.” Bev rambled, but then she stopped short. “Oh god I’m sorry, I’ve just been rambling on this whole time.”

“No, no it’s okay honestly.” Eddie assured her. “I like listening to people’s stories. I like it when others talk, as it means I don't have to.”

“God, you and Richie would be perfect for each other,” Bev groaned. “All he ever does is talk.”

“He sounds like quite the catch, but I’m in a relationship,” Eddie said softly. Bev’s eyes softened and she shook her head

“Shame, he would have really liked you. Maybe we can still introduce you at the wedding.” She offered and Eddie nodded his head.

“Sure, I’d like that.”

* * *

As the arrived at Farhampton station, Eddie hitched a cab with Beverly to the hotel where the wedding would take place, to drop off his things. He was about to leave when a notification popped up on his phone from the Cellophonics website. His eyes widened as he read over the words.

**Bass Player Wanted**

**Must be hotter than the guy we have now. Who in my opinion is a six at best.**

That fucking _asshole._

He stormed into the bar,joining Beverly as he ordered a drink and proceeded to tell her everything, all the whilst trying not to burst into tears. He really was getting to the edge of his tether. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

In the short time since he had parted from Beverly, it was clear something had happened but he wasn’t going to go into the details with her as she already looked stressed enough as it was, her drink held tight in her hand. “You should steal that assholes car!” She suggested before her eyes darkened. “And run my husband over with it!”

So he had. He stole Patrick’s van and had every intention of ditching out on the wedding completely, but he couldn’t do it. It was as Eddie was heading back down the road that he came across a man walking...with a baby strapped to his chest. No...there was no way that this could be Beverly’s husband Bed...could it?

Turns out, it was.

So he offered Ben a lift back to the hotel, dropping him off and he made a beeline for the bar. He hadn’t even ordered a drink before Patrick came barreling back through the back door, clutching his eye. “Ugh the best man just punched me in the face!” His eyes settled on Eddie. “You know what I’m done, you can have your fucking band back.”

Eddie grinned as Patrick stormed out of the bar and he turned to the barman. “Whoever that best man was, I want to buy him a double of your finest scotch.”

As he spoke, Eddie glanced up at the clock. He sighed, noting the time and he stood up, calling a cab to take him out to Graeme’s summer house where he was staying for the weekend. He thanks the cab driver and passed him a twenty before slipping out of the car and walking up the porch to the house.

What he hadn’t expected was to find Graeme in the living room when he opened the door. “Graeme?”

Instead of speaking, Graeme got down onto one knee and held out a ring. “Eddie, will you marry me?”

When he was younger, Eddie would think about the time when he met the right person, the person that he would spend the rest of his life with, the person he would grow old with. Then, when he was eighteen, Eddie thought he had found it in his best friend Bill. They had been close growing up, so close, and when Bill had asked him out, Eddie was over the moon. It was as though he had bought his very first lottery ticket and won the jackpot with it.

Then, the unspeakable happened. On the eve of Eddie’s 21st birthday, they were out getting drinks and Bill, as usual, had been late. It was only after he was a few hours late that Eddie started to worry, that is, until he got the call from Georgie, Bill’s little brother.

“Eddie...Billy was in a bad car accident. He didn’t make it.”

It was as though Eddie had fallen into a state of shock. In the years that followed, he stopped going out, refused to be set up for blind dates as he couldn’t see the point. Bill was his guy, and he lost him too early. He wasn’t going to get a second chance.

Yet, here his other chance was, down on one knee holding a ring between his fingers. So why couldn’t Eddie give him an answer?

“Can...can you give me a minute?” Eddie whispered, backing up towards the door, dropping his suitcase and umbrella as he walked. “There’s- there is someone that I need to talk to.”

Without waiting for an answer, Eddie rushed out of the door and onto the porch, leaning against the wooden frame. He looked up at the night sky, tears pooling in his eyes because he knew, this was a goodbye. “Hi Bill. It’s me again. Sorry to interrupt, I know you’re probably having a blast up there...I guess I just needed someone to talk to. Not just any someone. You. Listen...I’ve got a situation here. I think that I’ve been holding myself back from falling in love again and I think...no I know it’s because I just can’t let you go. But I think...I think that it’s time and I guess I just wanted to ask you if you would be okay with...with me moving on?” Eddie choked out, his arms wrapping around the beam as he tried not to break down in tears. “I know that there is no way you could possibly answer that but-” As he spoke a gust of wind blew over him, causing the hairs on his arms to stand up straight. A laugh bubbled up from his throat and he wiped away the tears. “I’m...I’m going to take that as a yes.”

Pressing a kiss to his palm, Eddie blew it out into the open air. “Goodbye, Bill.”

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

The hotel was empty by the time Eddie trudged back in, all of his belongings with him and a huge weight off of his shoulders. Yes, he might have just broken up with his boyfriend, but it had felt right. He wasn’t in love with him, and now that he had let Bill go, there was a part of him hoping that there was still a chance for him to find love...with whoever that may be.

“We’ll you’re in luck! The father of one of the grooms never checked in so there is a free room.” The concierge smiled. “How many keys?”

“Oh just the one...I just broke up with someone earlier.” Eddie explained, fiddling his fingers together.

The concierge smiled and passed him over the room key. “Here, I think room eight is the perfect room for you.”

So Eddie accepted the key and walked up to the room, dumping all of his things on the bed. He picked his ukulele out of its case and stood up, sliding out into onto the balcony. It was such a beautiful night and he closed his eyes, strumming the opening tune to ‘La Vie en Rose’ before he sang the lyrics, soft and sweet.

“ _Hold me close and hold me fast  
_ _The magic spell you cast  
_ _This is la vie en rose”_

He had no idea that there was some just in the room next door listening to him sing as he continued on.

“ _When you press me to your heart  
_ _I'm in a world apart  
_ _A world where roses bloom  
_ _And when you speak  
_ _Angels sing from above  
_ _Everyday words seem  
_ _To turn into love songs_

_Give your heart and soul to me  
_ _And life will always be la vie en rose”_

As the song came to a close, Eddie sat his ukulele by his side and closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful quiet that the night brought him. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * * 

“Stan, hey, there is a guy next door singing and god his voice is stunning!” Richie sighed as he closed the balcony door and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Mhm, I heard. Very nice now go to sleep, we have a long day tomorrow,” Stan muttered, rolling over on the make up bed and closing his eyes.

“But-”

“Richie.  **You promised.** ****We’re having an early night.”

Richie lay down on his bed and smiled. A small part of him wanted to go next door and compliment the man on his voice, but he knew he had to sleep. So he shut off the side lamp and pulled the covers over his head, letting himself fall into a sleep filled with a faceless man with a gorgeous voice.

He was woken up the following morning with his alarm blaring in his ear and Stan grumbling from the makeshift bed. It took Richie a few moments for the upcoming events of the day to settle into his mind before he was shooting up.

“Stan the man you’re getting married today!”

And he did. Richie spent the whole day making sure that everything went just according to plan, all the whilst holding back news of his own. His news was not something you told people hours before their wedding. However, in the midst of it all, his friends found out anyway.

“You’re moving?” Bev asked, a frown on her face as she pulled him into a hug. “When? Where?”

“California, and first thing tomorrow morning. I was offered to the the host of a radio show over there and it’s too big to pass up.” Richie explained. “I have to get that last train back to the city.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Mike asked softly, holding Stan’s hand tightly.

“I didn’t want to ruin your day by giving you sad news.” Richie answered.

“So what, you were just gonna vanish?” Stan spat, voice full of hurt. “You’re my best friend. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“No, no I was going to tell you, I was just trying to find the right time.”

Everyone fell into a lengthy silence, until Ben cleared his throat and stepped forward. “Well, be sure to keep in touch, Rich.” Richie barely got a nod out before everyone was pulling him into a hug, tight, with the hint of a goodbye.

Just like they planned, Mike and Stan’s wedding went of without a hitch and during his best man speech, Richie had informed everyone to look under their seats where he had placed a cap for each guest with the name “Stanlon” written across the front.  
 **“** It’s called your ship name! Very popular amongst the young kids these days!” Richie exclaimed and placed the cap on his own head, encouraging everyone to do the same.

When Mike and Stan got up for their first dance, the band kicked into gear and Richie’s eyes widened as they landed on the boy playing the bass. He couldn’t have been taller than 5ft 5, soft blonde locks, flushed cheeks and Richie swore his heart lurched into his throat. There was a moment that he was going to go speak to him, but then he remembered California and held himself back. He couldn’t do it, no matter how much he was drawn to him.

As the night wore on, Richie downed as many drinks with his friends as he could, but before he knew it, it was time for him to head to the station to catch the last train. The party was beginning to die down and he stood up, only to be stopped by Beverly.

“Wait, I promised I’d introduce you to someone!” She exclaimed but Richie shook his head. “It’s the bass player!”

The bass player. What a coincidence. “Bev...I have to go or I’ll miss the train.” Everyone at the table fell silent and they all looked at each other before Stan cleared his throat.

“I think...we should do this in private. Outside?” He suggested and everyone nodded, standing up and heading out onto the veranda. Ben went first, pulling Richie into a tight hug.

“Good luck in California Richie, you’re gonna be amazing.” He sniffed pulling back to let Bev step forward.

“Don’t you dare forget to call okay?” She warned and Richie shook his head, placing his hands down on her stomach. She wasn’t showing yet, but earlier that day Bev had told everyone she was expecting baby number two.

“As if I would ever forget to call, Miss Marsh.”

Mike went next, hugging Richie tight, “We’re gonna miss you, Rich.”

“I’m gonna miss you guys too. But go and enjoy your honeymoon, you deserve it.”

Stan was last, hesitating before pulling Richie into a less than manly hug. “See you soon, Trashmouth.”

“Yeah Stan the Man. I’ll see you soon.”

His bag was sitting in the lobby of the hotel and he smiled at the concierge as he collected his things and got into the cab waiting outside for him. It was pouring down with rain and right then Richie wished he had a damn umbrella. The cab dropped him off and he walked onto the platform, sitting next to an old lady who was waiting on the train also.

“Don’t get excited. It’s running an hour late.” She offered and Richie groaned. Great, another hour of sitting in the rain. A small part of him was screaming at him to go back to the wedding, to go back and talk to the beautiful bass playing boy but he remained firm.

“And here I was rushing,” Richie laughed and the woman looked up at him.

“Why were you rushing?” She asked and Richie shook his head. This stranger was basically giving him an opening to tell her about the events of the wedding. So...he did.

“After the goodbye, I rushed out to make the train, but I can’t help but think I made a huge mistake in not talking to that bass player,” he sighed, running a hand through his damp curls.

“This man with the bass guitar, was he handsome?” She asked and Richie let out a sigh.

“Yeah, yeah he was the most gorgeous man I have ever laid my eyes on.”

“Then you should go back and talk to him!” She exclaimed and Richie shook his head.

“What? No.”

“But what if it was destiny!”

“Listen, it’s been a really long weekend. I’m moving to California tomorrow. I can’t really talk destiny,” Richie replied, turning back to face the tracks.

The lady shrugged and picked up her paper, reading over the few lines before turning back to Richie and tapping him on the shoulder. “What if the universe, sent you a huge sign that this man was your destiny. Then would you go talk to him?”

“I mean...yeah. Sure. I guess I would have to,” Richie supplied, shrugging his shoulders. The old lady just grinned in response and tapped him on the shoulder again. “Yes?”

“Can I just ask one more question?”

“What?”

“This boy with the bass guitar….is that him?” She asked, pointing across the platform. Richie’s head turned fast, his eyes widening as they settled on the same boy from earlier that night, standing only a few feet away. He was holding onto a familiar yellow umbrella and Richie’s heart began to hammer in his chest. His silence must have confirmed the lady’s theory as she clapped her hands. “Oh it is him! Go talk to him!”

“Jeez lady, be cool!” Richie hissed. “I can’t just walk up there and talk to him, that would be insanely creepy. Anyway, I’m moving away tomorrow remember? I can’t get myself involved with someone when I’m moving across the country!”

He turned back to look over at the boy again and it was as though a magnet was pulling him closer and closer. Richie rose to his feet and stepped out from under the shelter and into the rain, walking over to where the boy was standing and he reached out, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me hi-” Richie started and the boy turned to face him, smiling.

“Hi!”

“I’m the best-”

“The best man!” He finished, holding the umbrella over the two of them. “HI.”

“Hi, great show tonight, you were amazing.” Richie offered, a blush forming on his cheeks.

“Thanks, I loved your speech, especially the thing with the hats it was very original.” Richie swore he fell in love with the boy right there.

“I know right! Not everyone gets my strange sense of humour,” he rubbed the back of his neck before clearing his throat and holding out his hand. “My name’s Richie.”

The boy smiled, wide and true, “Eddie.” He accepted Richie’s handshake, letting their palms press together.

As their hands met, Richie felt a sudden shift. It was as though all of the shitty dates, all of his failed relationships suddenly became worth it because each and every one of them lead him to this boy standing before him. It was as though the universe had finally fallen into place, finally came into focus.

“Richie and Eddie,” Richie hummed, a smile creeping onto his face. The words were already formed on his tongue, but what he didn’t expect was for Eddie to also have the same word forming on his own lips.

“Reddie!” They both said in unison, laughing as their hands remained clasped, staring at each other as though the two of them were the only thing on the planet.

And the rest, they say, was history.

 


End file.
